1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to containers for storing viscous materials. More specifically, it relates to a device for supporting tapered containers in an inverted position so as to cause viscous material inside the container to settle to its dispensing end.
2. Description of the Related Art
Viscous material that is sold and stored in containers, such as ketchup or mustard, tends to settle to the bottom of the container during shipping and storage. This can make it difficult to dispense the material through an opening at the upper end of the container. Such containers typically have a relatively wide support base on the bottom, and a narrower upper dispensing end. They are stored upright on a refrigerator or pantry shelf, and must be inverted in use to dispense their contents. Often the consumer must vigorously shake the container in an inverted position to transfer the contents to the dispensing end. This often results in spillage or over dispensing. As the level of the viscous material in the container goes down due to consumption, it becomes progressively more difficult to transfer the remaining material that settles to the bottom of the container to the dispensing end.
Various devices have been proposed for draining viscous foods or other materials from a container, or for transferring the material from one container to another. One device, described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,271,878 by Bologa, consists of a structure for supporting a ketchup bottle in an inverted position and a container that is placed underneath the mouth of the bottle to receive the ketchup that is drained out. The supporting structure has an opening for receiving the neck of the bottle, with flexible fingers extending into the opening. The flexible fingers engage the neck of the bottle and support it. Bottles of various sizes can be accommodated due to the resilient nature of the fingers.
A problem with this device is that it cannot be sold and shipped together with a bottle as one unit without a significant increase in overall bulk. In addition, the resiliency of the flexible fingers that are used to support the bottle may degrade over time, resulting in a decrease in the supporting force that the fingers apply to the bottle. This may be particularly problematic if the device is used to support a small bottle after large bottles have been supported for long periods of time. This is because the fingers in the opening have to flex by a greater amount to accommodate the larger bottles. If the resiliency of the fingers degrade, the supporting force applied to the smaller bottle may not be sufficient to keep it from falling through the opening. Also, there is still a need to invert the bottle after storage and the possibility of having to shake it to move the contents down and start the flow.
A device for supporting a bottle of effervescent liquid in an inverted position is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,149,041 by Hartke. It is intended to be used only after the bottle has been opened and recapped, to prevent the effervescent gases from escaping through the cap. This device, like the Bologa device, adds significantly to the overall bulk of the container. It uses four large vertical supports that allow multiple containers and their respective supports to be stacked. A device for transferring the contents of one bottle to another is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,454,897 by Valiant. This device consists of a flat sheet of flexible material that is wrapped around two food containers to hold them in a mouth-to-mouth relationship, with the bottle that is being drained held in an inverted position and the receiving bottle held in an upright position. Although this device holds one of the containers in an inverted position, it is in combination with a second upright container. The device does not provide adequate support for holding a single container in an inverted position and cannot be used for storage, since the two bottles, when stacked vertically, are higher than the typical refrigerator or pantry shelf clearance. In addition, the process of wrapping the two bottles together with the flat sheet of material is time consuming and inconvenient.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,146,957 discloses a combination oil container holder and drainer that is designed to hold an oil container in an inverted position in order to drain the residual oil in it. The combination holder/drainer consists of a reservoir with an opening that is shaped to hold the oil container in an inverted position. Since the device is designed to be both a holder and reservoir, it is very large and bulky. It is not intended to be used for storage, and oil does not have the dispensing problems of thicker substances like ketchup or mustard.